Friday Five: Sex Positivity to Make You Smile
If 2023 has given you feelings of concern, disappointment, or has made you think “Seriously, is this really happening?” know you’re not alone. From the horrendous war in Palestine to bodily agency laws being overturned in the U.S., we are all too frequently left wondering if the leaders of our world share our vision of peace for all beings.
Since we believe that peace begins within each of us, we continue to do our best to share our resources and to focus on spreading uplifting messages.
So, here are 5 encouraging bits of news to foster a more positive outlook as we ring in 2024:
Love Wins
The first same-sex marriage in South East Asia was officially recognized in Nepal between Pandey, a man, and Gurung a transgender woman.
“We will continue our [...] fight to bring equality to sexual minorities in the country so that generations of people will not have to suffer like we all did.”
There are 65 jurisdictions around the world that currently criminalize same-sex sexual activity and 12 countries that have a death penalty imposed. Hopefully, wins like this Nepalese queer marriage will be a small step toward more liberation as well as inviting personal gratitude if you live somewhere you can love openly.
2. Mother Nature Wins
All over the U.S., urban farms are being funded to provide local communities with food security, growing education, and more green spaces. Lopez Urban Farm in Pomona, California is run by a passionate team that works to “educate youth on sustainable agriculture, food systems, and environmental stewardship. [...] pivotal in shaping a more sustainable and resilient tomorrow, empowering individuals and communities to effect positive change.”
Access to local, fresh organic foods gives us a nurturing sense of wellbeing. Eating fresh foods maintains a healthy gut and microbiome, which affects our mood, sex drive, and energy levels. We encourage you to find and support your local community garden!
3. With Pleasure
Our friends at Cannacurious magazine just announced their yearly awards for favorites in the cannabis industry. We loved that they included an entire category for intimacy products.
Arousal oils infused with CBD are perfect for relaxing and creating a juicy space for more pleasurable sex! Fulfilling sex boosts self-esteem, serotonin levels and leads to happier days and more restful nights. We hope that our society continues to liberate their sexual needs and desires with a healthy relationship to arousal allies like stimulating oils, toys, and erotic content.
4. Preserving Indigenous Culture
The Juma tribe of the Brazilian Rainforest was one of the many tribes that were displaced and nearly destroyed by European colonization. Three sisters, Boreá, Mandeí, and Maytá, and their father were the last remaining members of their tribe. When he passed, the middle sister decided to take leadership to keep their culture alive. She became the first chief in their region of the Amazon and is slowly bringing their village back to life.
“Because we were few, people didn’t recognize us, didn’t respect us,” she said. “There had never been a woman leader before, and then people came to tell me, ‘You shouldn’t have assumed it because you’re a woman.’”
But Mandeí didn’t let that stop her.
“I adapted to seek solutions for our people,” she said. Madeí invited a linguist to their village to create a digital archive with traditional stories and songs in their native Juma language.
We hope Mandeí’s story can help remind you that we all have the power to enact change, and often our local community is an ideal place to begin.
5. Open Society Foundation
Philanthropic project founded by billionaire George Soros announced its commitment of 50 million dollars toward global projects promoting racial equality, reproductive justice, and climate change. Previous grantees include Planned Parenthood, the National Women’s Law Center, the Alliance for Youth Action, Run for Something, and Power Rising.
Visit their website to learn more about the projects they support and the grants they offer.
As we prepare for these final weeks of 2023, we hope you can take time to find even more positivity in the world and harness it to relax, reflect, and reset. Please let us know if we can create resources to help.
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Support our work towards a more intentional world.
My Sex Bio exists with the sole purpose of evoking reflection in our societies, reflection on two of the most touching and vulnerable topics to any human—sex and relationships.
How we learn to listen and tend to our needs and how we show up for each of the relationships we've built in our lives largely determines how much peace we are able to bring to ourselves and extend to our communities.
How many relationships need to suffer before we stop rejecting and shaming our inherent sexuality?
How many young boys will we raise into violent stereotypes before we change how we talk about masculinity?
How many females have to experience pain during sex before health care providers stop telling them it's 'normal'?
With your support, we can continue to challenge these realities and build a world where people make choices in tune with their needs and their authentic selves, rather than follow predetermined scripts.
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